Our spoiled little Reedster

It’s a good thing that I keep reading how you “can’t spoil an infant” because if there ever was such a thing you could definitely stick that label right onto Reed’s forehead!

He insists on being held constantly- there are rare occasions that happen typically twice a day where I can set him down on his play mat and he’ll stare at the toys. Even rarer are the occasions where we can lay him down to nap and have some time to do things with two hands.

Even now as I sit and type he is tucked into my lap, laying along my tummy between my breasts and the boppy on my thighs. I’m even the naughty mother who sleeps with my infant next to me, in direct violation of everything I’ve read about where infants should safely sleep.

He requires direct contact with me in order to feel secure and content. I know I should be practicing laying him in his moses basket next to the bed, as we had planned, but sleep deprivation and exhaustion rule my priorities. However I can get my sleep- I do it.

We have a special relationship, Reed and I. My touch, my voice, is sometimes all he needs in order to calm down. Its amazing that we have this bond – I look into his eyes and I see my creation. I see responsibility, accountability, hopes, dreams, fears, expectations, challenges. I could let my mind unravel in the possibilities of his future and the memories we will experience down the road.

Most of the time Reed looks very serious.

Mike says he must have gotten that from him. He seems wise beyond his years, an “old soul” to put it precisely. My guess is that once he gets more control over his facial expressions and emotions, that “old soul” will fade into an excited little boy. I could be wrong! Maybe he won’t change that much and he’ll just continue to be our little man. I have been able to get a few smiles out of him. What can I say, he loves his mommy’s kisses! Just this morning I was kissing each side of his face and counting, “One kiss! Two kiss! Three kiss! Four kiss!” and each time I pulled back he flickered a smile at me. Talk about encouragement! I stepped it up and kissed him all over his face and he continued to smile! Of course once I grabbed my blackberry and tried to get a video of it, he was over the whole game. But I enjoyed it, and that’s what is important!

His sleeping schedule fluctuates daily. Some days he takes two good naps and I can sleep with him and other days he chooses to catnap in my arms and doesn’t allow me to lay down with him. The nights fluctuate as well. Lately tho, it has become a two hour interval. Two up, two down. I am ever so grateful for the nights where he gets either a three hour sleep stretch or a one hour up for feeding. When he was 3 weeks old we gave him his first bottle. Mike was a little emotional about it- neither of us expected it to be a very big deal but Mike was amazed at how good it felt and I was shocked at how sad I was. Maybe sad isn’t the word, but I didn’t like him not needing me. I was relieved when he came back to me for more when the bottle was finished!

Now, it’s really nice because Mike can give him a bottle for the first nighttime feeding and allow me to get 4 hours of sleep straight! That felt incredible. I think I woke up a whole new woman ready to take on anything! Yesterday Susanne came over for three hours just to hold him for me. We had just woke up from a nap, so I didn’t need to do that while she was there so I took a shower. It was nice! I got to shave my legs! We also did a little project that I’d been meaning to do. I have a picture frame bulletin board that I put two little blue pieces of paper in and had intended to stamp his foot prints on them. We finally accomplished that on his 1 month birthday!! The weeks have just flown by and it’s hard to believe he’s already 1 month old. Although since I’m up during the day and the night it almost feels like he’s two months old *wink*

Today I got Reed all dressed up in his DKNY shirt and his Old Navy boot cut jeans with his little shoes. He was so handsome! Watch out ladies!! We went to Gordmans to buy some nursing bras (at great prices!) and he had the ladies there swooning. Until he started screaming, then they gave us some space. He used to be so good in his car seat. I bragged, which is what cursed me I’m sure, because my friend Kelly’s baby, Sophie, hates her car seat. Lately Reed switches back and forth between hating it and not minding it much. So during one car ride you could see him flip flop multiple times. When he’s not crying he, of course, is a very serious business traveler, like his daddy.

I really wish I could blog more, there are so many things I want to say each day- to record our exciting daily activities, but it’s so hard because the day is filled with feeding him, changing him and soothing him. When he does go down for a hard nap- I know that I need to be napping, too. Tomorrow I’m hosting book club. Most of the group has seen him already but a couple haven’t so that will be fun. I’m still trying to decide what to make for dinner. I keep going back and forth between something fun and yummy and something easy, like frozen pizza. Keeping in mind that I’ll probably be one handed, a recipe that requires very much chopping or anything very “hands on” is going to be challenging. On the other hand, that’s part of the excitement of hosting book club! It sounds silly, but it’s true. We love to impress each other. I’m thinking something nutritious, like a confetti salad with grilled chicken.

That’s going to require a trip to the store and a lot of chopping! Well, I’ve always said that I do love a challenge. I can catch up on sleep on Friday, right? Or Saturday?

I now have a huge respect for my friends who have babies. Now that I realize how hard it is I think back at all the breakfasts that Melissa and I enjoyed at the bagel shop when Ty was just a week old (okay we started our weekly bagel breakfast date when he was 10 days old). I don’t know how she did it. She always showed up looking gorgeous. Hair curled, make up on… I don’t want to commit to being anywhere just because of the chance that I could possibly be getting a nap at that time and Reed is so unpredictable there! And make up? Forget about it! That happens about every other day… ish. Which explains my lack of appearances in pictures with him.

Before I wrap this up I do have to mention last Saturday, which was Mike’s half iron distance triathlon. We bought a dome shaped tent to set up so that Reed and I could spend the day out as hard core spectators. We got there at 6:45 am and left around 4:30 putting us at about 10 hours out at the lake. We had everything we needed and Reed was such a trooper! We alternated with the baby bjorn for a while, the sling for a while and under the tent for a while. Mike brought his camping cot so we even snuck in a nap. I felt empowered that I could still do something that was so important to me- support my husband. I really want Reed to be able to adapt to our lifestyle. I don’t want to disappear just because I had a baby. It’s important to me to still make it to races or other events as well as my Monday Night Taco date with the Harpers!!

Thank you for your patience, if you’ve made it all the way to this point I may have to wonder how many things you’re neglecting while reading this! Ha!